By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Warrior Wrestling 30 – Friday Night Lights
June 30, 2023 in Chicago Heights, Illinois at Marian Catholic High School
Replay available free on YouTube.com
This show aired live and free on YouTube.com. In some good news, WW announced that El Vikingo’s match would air in its entirety; his prior matches have been highlight clips due to AAA’s rules. Rich Bocchini and Val Capone provided commentary. Attendance is maybe 400-500, with most people seated on lawn chairs on the football field. It looks to be a nice night for an outdoor show; the smoke from Canadian wildfires doesn’t seem to be bad there.
* Frank the Clown and KC Navarro hit the ring to start the show. They talked about how great they are. I find Frank highly annoying, in a “go-away heat” way, and this segment just went on and on with no end in sight.
1. Sabin Gauge defeated Cole Radrick at 11:05. Gauge is one of several Chicago-based indy wrestlers on this show; I’ve seen him a handful of times now on Freelance Wrestling shows. I am admittedy not a fan of Radrick’s look or in-ring work. Radrick hit a clothesline to the back of the head for a nearfall at 2:30, then a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. Gauge hit a spin kick to the head for a nearfall at 7:30. Radrick hit a spinning faceplant for a believable nearfall. Gauge hit a Swanton Bomb for a nearfall at 10:00. Radrick hit a springboard stunner. Gauge hit a pumphandle sit-out powerbomb for the clean pin. A shocking upset.
2. Skye Blue defeated Heather Reckless at 14:40. A nice pop for Chicago’s own Blue. Skye came up short on a dropkick, and Heather bailed to the floor to regroup. In the ring, Skye hit a cartwheel-into-a-forearm at 3:00. They brawled back to the floor. In the ring, Heather hit a running knee for a nearfall, then a spin kick to the side of the head at 7:00. She hit a running kick to the face in the corner for a nearfall. Skye hit a top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall at 9:30. Heather slammed Skye into a turnbuckle and stomped on her head for a nearfall. Ouch!
Heather applied a leglock on the mat, but Skye reached the ropes. Skye hit a superkick, and they were both down at 11:30. They got up and traded forearm shots. Heather hit a stunner; Skye hit a superkick and a spinning faceplant for a believable nearfall. Heather hit a shotgun dropkick. Heather hit a top-rope Spanish Fly for a nearfall! She yelled at the referee. They traded rollups, and Skye got the three-count. That topped all expectations and built really nicely, even if the winner was never in doubt.
3. “The Bang Bros” Davey Bang and August Matthews defeated Koda Hernandez and Sorta Incredible Iverson at 17:40. Iverson is the chubby guy who dresses like a superhero in a pink costume and he carries a Capt. America shield; he’s very cartoonish. Koda is a last-minute fill-in, replacing Matt Knicks; he’s all-business and giving me Steve Blackman vibes tonight, so this is an oddball teaming with the silly Iverson. The Bang Bros just wrestled on ROH TV and they are rising indy stars, and they also are from the Chicago area. Val noted they all are from Freelance Wrestling Academy, like Sabin Gauge. Lots of comedy early on. Iverson hit a bodyslam and elbow drop on Bang at 4:30.
Matthews hit a snap suplex on Iverson, and Bang hit a slingshot senton, and the Bang Bros were in charge. Koda got in and beat up Matthews, but he was barking at teammate Iverson. Bang made the hot tag at 10:30, and he hit a handspring-back-elbow on Iveson, then a standing moonsault for a nearfall. (Bocchini accidentally called it a Shooting Star Press). Iverson hit an inverted DDT and they were both down. Koda got in and hit a spinning Angle Slam for a nearfall. Bang speared Koda at 12:30. Matthews and Iverson got back in, with August hitting a modified Sliced Bread for a nearfall. Iverson tossed Bang onto Matthews. Iverson hit a top-rope crossbody block on both for a nearfall.
August hit a top-rope Blockbuster, and everyone was down at 14:30. Bang hit a spear on Koda for a nearfall. Bang hit the Ride the Bus team spear, but he crashed into Iverson’s shield! Iverson hit a chokeslam and Koda made the cover for a believable nearfall. Koda got pushed into Iverson. Bang hit a moonsault to the floor as August dove through the ropes. The Bang Bros hit the Ride the Bus team spear on Iverson. Bang immediatelh hit a top-rope 450 Splash for the pin on Iverson. That started pretty silly, but it picked up nicely.
* Trevor Outlaw hit the ring. He’s not dressed to wrestle. He got on the mic and berated the crowd. He said Storm Grayson turned his life around when he signed up with Frank the Clown.
4. Jordan Kross defeated Storm Grayson (w/Trevor Outlaw) at 10:18. WIth a flamboyant robe and sunglasses on, Storm Grayson has an unmistakable likeness to Seth Rollins’ current look. Grayson appeared on AEW TV a week ago in a squash. Kross is the scrawny kid with a passing resemblance to Mike Bailey, who somehow keeps winning his matches here to the point it is a running joke. Bocchini announced this is the 250th match ever in Warrior Wrestling history. Grayson stalled early on. Outlaw beat up Kross on the field outside the ring, allowing Grayson to take control. He bodyslammed Kross on the turf at 4:30.
In the ring, Grayson hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. Outlaw struck Kross with a kendo stick at 9:30, but the ref saw it and he ejected Outlaw. Kross immediately rolled up Kross for the pin out of nowhere. Blah. Grayson hit a sit-out powerbomb after the bell. Outlaw, who never even had a chance to head to the back, helped beat down Kross.
* A video package aired with Warhorse, but it was completely inaudible. Too bad because they clearly put time into it.
5. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Warhorse at 17:56. Takeshita has a smug look to him, so he is sticking to the AEW storyline heel character. Standing switches, and it has quickly gotten dark. Takeshita hit a huracanrana at 2:00 that sent Warhorse to the ground. Warhorse hit a dropkick as they fought on the field, and he hit a dive through the ropes, barreling onto Takeshita. They walked around the field and traded blows, going between groups of families seated in their lawn chairs. In a fun spot, they went onto the track that loops the field, and Takeshita ran on it, clearing several hurdles, before hitting Warhorse at 6:00.
They did the Charlie Brown-and-Lucy football spot, as this has gotten quite silly. Warhorse grabbed a football, hit a shoulder tackle to knock Takeshita down, and ‘scored a touchdown.’ He grabbed “fans” and bodyslammed them onto Takeshita. The crowd is enjoying the campy humor. They went back toward ringside, where Takeshita hit a brainbuster on the turf at 9:00. They finally got back in the ring. They fought on the top of a turnbuckle, where Takeshita hit a clothesline, sending Warhorse to the mat. They began trading forearm shots; the lighting is now much better as the lights are on.
Warhorse hit a German Suplex at 13:00; Takeshita hit one; Warhorse hit a clothesline, and they were both down. Warhorse applied a Sharpshooter and banged his head, as the crowd taunted Takeshita to tap out. Warhorse accidentally crashed into the ref. Takeshita hit a low blow kick, then a Moxley-style double-arm DDT. Takeshita nailed a top-rope senton splash for a believable nearfall at 15:30. Warhorse hit a powerbomb for a nearfall, then a top-rope Macho Man elbowdrop for a believable nearfall. Takeshita hit a running knee to the jaw for the pin. They did the silly stuff early on, but when they got back in the ring, this got really, really good.
6. Gringo Loco defeated El Hijo Del Vikingo and Gabriel Fuerza in a three-way to retain the Warrior Wrestling Lucha Title at 11:49. I have never seen Fuerza before; he has long dark hair and he doesn’t wear a mask; Vikingo is 5’5″ so I’ll put Fuerza at 5’7″. Quick reversals for everyone to open. Vikingo hit a cool huracanrana on Loco. Vikingo leapt off a corner, bounced off the top rope, and caught his opponents to hit a double armdrag. Vikingo then hit a top-rope moonsault to the ground on both at 2:30. In the ring, Vikingo hit a frogsplash for a nearfall on Loco.
Fuerza hit some stiff forearm shots on Vikingo. Fuerza hit a baseball slide dropkick on both, then a second-rope moonsault to the ground on both at 5:00. In a nice spot, in the ring, Fuerza walked on his hands before slamming onto Vikingo for a nearfall. He hit a mid-ring Spanish Fly on Vikingo for a nearfall, but he missed a top-rope Shooting Star Press. Loco hit a top-rope flying stunner. Loco hit a top-rope Spanish Fly on Fuerza, but Fuerza immediately hit a handspring-back-spin kick. Loco nailed a modified piledriver on Vikingo for a nearfall at 8:30.
Fuerza and Vikingo traded hard overhand chops to the chest. Vikingo hit a uranage, then his second-rope twisting splash on Fuerza, coming from the outside of the ropes into the ring, for a nearfall at 11:00. Gringo hit a top-rope slam on Vikingo for a nearfall, but Fuerza made the save. Loco immediately popped Fuerza in the air, caught him, and hit a modified piledriver for the pin. A really good match, but there was never any doubt who was eating the pin here.
7. KC Navarro (w/Frank the Clown) defeated Matt Cardona in a falls count anywhere match to retain the Warrior Wrestling Title at 26:50. A strange main event as both are presented as heels. Cardona wore his Indiana Jones-inspired ring gear. Navarro and Frank came out in a white stretch limo, and some fireworks went off in the background. Hilarious in how it is over-the-top. (WW are family-friendly shows, so we didn’t get an expletive-filled tirade from Cardona on the mic.) I always compare heel Navarro to a heel Ace Austin, not just in stature but how they work. They played to the crowd at the bell, but Cardona got a nearfall just seconds in, and KC rolled to the ground to regroup.
KC offered a handshake; he is at least six inches shorter and a lot lighter. (A quick internet search lists him at 5’5″ and 134 pounds.) Cardona shook his hand but then hit some clotheslines. Navarro again stalled on the floor with Frank. Cardona followed Navarro and they brawled by the commentator table. Cardona threw a garbage can at him at 8:00. They got back to ringside, where Frank tripped Cardona; KC barreled through the ropes onto Cardona, and they brawled some more on the turf. In the ring, KC hit Cardona across the back with a steel chair at 12:00.
Cardona hit a missile dropkick and a standing powerbomb for a nearfall. He hit a running boot for a nearfall at 15:00. KC hit his own running boot to the face, then a top-rope frogsplash for a nearfall at 17:00. The ref was down. Cardona hit the Rough Rider legdrop for a visual pin. A ref finally got in and started to count, but Frank pulled him out of the ring. Cardona punched Frank, drawing cheers. KC got a nearfall. Frank got in the ring and held Cardona; KC accidentally hit Frank with the title belt. Cardona hit another Rough Rider for a believable nearfall at 20:30; I thought that was it.
They went back to the ground, where Cardona was in charge. Cardona hit a low blow and got a nearfall on the turf. They brawled away from the cameras, as fans surrounded them as they fought on the turf, and they brawled over to a fence; they were far from the ring at this point. This match has become a complete mess, as the cameras are jerking around and can’t even find the wrestlers. They brawled up a set of stair into a press box high above the football field. Cardona teased tossing Navarro off the press box, but Frank tossed poweder in Cardona’s eyes. Navarro hit a low blow and pinned Cardona. Blah. We had more fireworks to close the show.
Final Thoughts: I don’t claim to know the reasons, but this is apparently Warrior Wrestling’s final show at the high school, which is odd, because this is where it began. It seemed like an obvious location to host shows, too.
I’ll go with the Lucha three-way for best match, as Vikingo and Gringo have worked together several times in the past couple of months, and it shows; they are clicking in the timing of their moves. Takeshita-Warhorse was campy early but got really good. I’m actually going to go with Skye Blue vs. Reckless for third-best, as I enjoyed it and it topped all expectations.
The main event went way too long and it really fell apart as they vanished into the crowd, and we had some really shaky camera work. Cardona was presented as the babyface tonight, but he’s been such a great heel in his post-WWE run, I don’t know why you bring him in for this awkward match where the crowd didn’t seem to want to cheer for him (or Navarro.) Hard to believe a short time ago, Will Ospreay was carrying the Warrior Wrestling Title; now it’s on a kid I just don’t buy as a ‘main eventer.’
I will reiterate that this show is free and available on YoutTube.com. At the very least, check out the top three matches I’ve listed.
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